CXO DX January 2023

RAMAN NARAYAN

narayan@leapmediallc.com

Mob: +971-55-7802403

SWEEPING CHANGES COURTESY TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION

Sustainability and cybersecurity are two key ongoing concerns even as technology disruption transforms the world as know it. It remains to be seen how much of direct action on the sustainability front is taken although several leading technology vendors have been bringing clean technologies to market to address concerns on the energy front. On the other hand, it is a tug of war between cybercriminals and the cybersecurity teams with just one lapse enough to undo all the good work on the security front. Ransomware and phishing attacks are relentless with new deceptive techniques to catch unaware victims. Phishing attacks are evolving beyond emails to text messages and other kinds of direct communication to fool users into parting with sensitive financial information.

AI and ML led technologies are taking the lead in transforming the world and this year as well as the next few years will see an acceleration to that effect. Several AI led solutions are helping radical changes in critical sectors and especially healthcare where use cases abound. From automating routine processes to streamline operations, to diagnosing symptoms of illnesses in patients early as well as help with their treatment, AI tools are already quite integral to modern day healthcare.

These newer technologies are enhancing operational capabilities and decision making across industries that is aided by the growing access to quality information and data, thereby helping business growth and profits. Whether it is agriculture, financial services, retail, hospitality, smart city services or any other, AI is of vital use. While these tools are available to all to adopt with a growing range to choose from, the differentiation in services from the entities that adopt them could then come down to what mix of solutions they choose to adopt and how effectively are they deployed and leveraged in their workflows. And of course, those who are early adopters will always be miles ahead if the deployments are done right.

R. Narayan Editor in Chief, CXO DX

SAUMYADEEP HALDER

Co-Founder & MD

saumyadeep@leapmediallc.com

Mob: +971-54-4458401

MALLIKA REGO

Co-Founder & Director Client Solutions

mallika@leapmediallc.com

Mob: +971-50-2489676

PUBLISHED BY - Leap Media Solutions LLC REGISTERED OFFICE: Office 10, Sharjah Media City | www.cxodx.com

Co-Founder & Editor in Chief

Sunil Kumar Designer

Nihal Shetty Webmaster

20 » ENABLING HYBRID WORKPLACE

Loubna Imenchal - Head of Enterprise Business - Logitech AMECA discusses the year that was and the outlook ahead for the company

21 » REGIONAL PRE-EMINENCE IN PRINTER DISTRIBUTION

Mithun Jagadeep, Business Unit Head, Mitsumi Distribution FZCO discusses the distributor’s focus in printer distribution

14 » OUTLOOK: ACCELERATING DIGITAL ADOPTION

More technology disruption will continue to shape the digital transformation journeys of organizations

12 » SOPHOS LAUNCHES MDR SERVICE INTEGRATING VENDOR AGNOSTIC TELEMETRY

13 » ORGANIZATIONS IGNORE SECURITY RED FLAGS AND JUMP INTO THE METAVERSE

18 » RAPID TRANSFORMATION

The year will continue to see industries adopting next generation technologies to enhance their competencies

22 » HOW THE CLOUD WILL HELP MANAGE UNCERTAINTY IN 2023

Matt Watts, Chief Evangelist at NetApp discusses some of the key trends that he believes will shape the year ahead

26 » OUTTHINKING THE CYBER-ATTACKERS

Hadi Jaafarawi, MD for Middle East at Qualys discusses 3 ways to see your technology suite as cyber-attackers do

28 » RISK, REWARD AND THE ROUTE TO RESILIENCE

James Petter, Vice President & General Manager, International at Pure Storage dicsusses 2023 business predictions

30 » TRENDS SHAPING DIGITIZATION IN 2023

Mark Ackerman, Area VP for Middle East and Africa, at ServiceNow writes about 4 macro trends in 2023

17 » ENABLING PARTNERS FOR THE MULTI CLOUD ERA

Maya Zakhour, Director Channel Sales - Eastern Europe, META, Iberia & Latin America at NetApp discusses the company’s focus on enabling partners in the multi cloud era

24 » HOW CLOUD IS ASSISTING EMERGENCE OF ROBOTICS AS A SERVICE

The ability to move on-demand services for robotic assistance to a cloud platform will boost demand from small and medium businesses in the region, explains Doaa Sulaiman, robotics director of PROVEN Robotics.

32 »

BUILDING A RESILIENT BACKUP STRATEGY

Ransomware attackers don’t just want your Data, now they are after the Backups too writes Rick Vanover, Senior Director of Product Strategy, Veeam

38 » ENSURING SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Sunil Paul, Co- Founder & MD, Finesse, shares the biggest reasons why digital transformation initiatives fail and how can these be avoided.

35

& STATS

DELL TECHNOLOGIES AND G42 CLOUD SIGN MOU

The companies will collaborate to accelerate UAE customers’ Digital Transformation Efforts

Dell Technologies and G42 Cloud have signed a memorandum of understanding to help customers in the UAE accelerate their digital transformation drive by collaborating on cloud, security and IT and managed services. The memorandum was signed by Walid Yehia, General Manager - UAE, Dell Technologies and Talal Al Kaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud at the Dell Technologies Forum 2022.

The two companies will work together across various areas including Private Cloud Solutions, as well as Consulting, Residency and Managed services. This collaboration aims to serve the UAE by enabling customers manage their day-to-day business operations and accelerate digital transformation with a more secure and consistent cloud experience. The agreement will allow the two companies’ customers to leverage the best-of-breed features and performance, including computing, data storage, and data protection needs.

Walid Yehia, General Manager - UAE, Dell Technologies, said, “To succeed in an increasingly digital economy, businesses need agile and scalable solutions that allow them to innovate and transform their operations. At Dell Technologies, we aim to simplify this journey with our comprehensive portfolio of solutions and services. We are happy to work with G42 Cloud in its efforts to

encourage organizations build a robust digital future.”

Talal Al Kaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud, said:“I am particularly excited and proud of signing this strategic agreement with Dell Technologies and of the opportunities we plan to unlock together, domestically and abroad. Cloud technologies today are helping economies expand and meet new market demands. G42 Cloud is focused on driving value and helping businesses to succeed in a digital-first world. The MoU allows us to explore both companies’ wide range of offerings and support our customers to maximize their business outcomes.”

TREND MICRO INAUGURATE MEA HQ IN RIYADH

The HQ includes an ‘Executive Briefing Center’ to host officials from both public and private sectors to showcase cutting-edge cybersecurity innovations

The launch of Trend Micro’s MEA headquarters in Riyadh, makes it the first global cyber security company to establish a regional base in Saudi Arabia. The MEA HQ comprises of a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for expert resources to manage incident handling and response for customers and partners, an ‘Executive Briefing Center’ to host officials from both public and private sectors to showcase cutting-edge cybersecurity innovations. The HQ will also facilitate an ‘Innovation and Learning Center’, that will provide skilling opportunities for graduates and professionals to accelerate their journeys in cyber security and information security.

Trend Micro Incorporated launched its Middle East and Africa (MEA) headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new MEA HQ will bolster region’s cybersecurity ecosystem, strengthen partnerships with government entities and private organizations, and accelerate the transition towards a safer digital future, in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the digital ambitions of the wider region.

“Saudi Arabia’s vision and investments in digital transformation and commitment to cybersecurity have been commendable, and that’s why we chose to establish our headquarters here,” said Kevin Simzer, Chief Operations Officer at Trend Micro. “The launch of our MEA HQ in Riyadh demonstrates Trend Micro's commitment to safeguarding the region’s future with innovative solutions. We aspire to become the preferred cybersecurity partner to organizations and communities in the new digital economy, paving the way for a more secure, and brighter digital future of MEA.”

SWIMLANE AND NOZOMI NETWORKS DELIVER LOWCODE SECURITY AUTOMATION FOR OT AND IOT

Integration delivers system of record for IT and OT asset compliance while automating threat detection and response workflow

Swimlane and Nozomi Networks announced a technology integration that combines low-code security automation with operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) security. The combined solution makes it possible for industrial and critical infrastructure security operations to maintain continuous asset compliance and mitigate the risks of attacks from combined OT and IT entry points.

“Critical infrastructure is facing a surge in targeted attacks and an ongoing shortage of cybersecurity expertise to detect and respond to these OT and IT attacks,” said Chet Namboodri, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Alliances at Nozomi Networks. “By partnering with Swimlane, we are empowering customers with an IT/OT converged and more automated approach to accelerating their response to incidents against their critical infrastructure.”

The Swimlane and Nozomi Networks integration elevates the protection of OT and critical infrastructure with multiple benefits

1. Real-Time Incident Response Capabilities: The integration enables security analysts to respond to threats in near real-time through either a fully-automated response, or via a single-click triage action when human-in-the-loop interaction is required.

2. Automated Asset Management, Compliance and Defense: By leveraging Nozomi Networks robust discovery and vulnerability detection, a complete and autonomous process can be deployed utilizing Swimlane to orchestrate managed patching of critical systems, preventative patching across OT assets and a reduced attack surface for would-be attackers.

3. SOC Automation Suite and System of Record: The Swimlane platform enables IT and OT security teams to connect their

processes through a common lens. This not only provides increased visibility across joint initiatives but enables distributed security personnel to seamlessly work cases as situations dictate using the same interface.

NUTANIX REWARDS PARTNERS ACROSS ITS ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM

Launches new benefits for all partners as part of its Elevate Partner Program

Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, announced the introduction of its new Referral Program, designed to reward partners across the entire lifecycle of any project.Part of Nutanix’s innovative Elevate Partner Program, the Referral Program changes the traditional partner-vendor relationship model and recognises the entire partner ecosystem, rather than just the ones that transact the deal.

It recognises partners’ different business models and the ecosystem of partners that customers engage with, depending on where they are with their buying cycle. In particular, it rewards partners who help customers shape their strategy early in the buying cycle, as well as ISV partners who engage more with line of business at the application level, but might not be involved in the end transaction.

At its core, the Referral Program means that Nutanix is able to recognise all partners involved in a customer’s buying journey and help build profitable partnerships. This gives

a clear signal to the industry of the value that Nutanix places on its entire partner ecosystem and the customers they serve.

Adam Tarbox, Vice President of EMEA Channel Sales at Nutanix, said: “Analysts talk about how customers engage with at least seven partners across the lifecycle of any project and there are multiple touchpoints. Despite this, vendors have traditionally tended to only concern themselves with and reward the partners involved in actual transactions, forgetting the whole ecosystem around each deal and how it comes to life. We’re changing that, and our new Referral Program is intended to reward more of our partners who are involved across the process – especially those who help customers to shape their strategies in the early stages of any project and support them through the buying process.”

Chet Namboodri Senior VP, Business Development and Alliances at Nozomi Networks

Adam Tarbox VP, EMEA Channel Sales, Nutanix

ABU DHABI AND MICROSOFT AFFIRM PRIVATE PUBLIC SECTOR COLLABORATION

Since the launch of its UAE data centers, Microsoft and its partners have collaborated with a range of entities to accelerate digital transformation across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa stated: “Our various strategic collaborations with many multi-national entities, be it blue-chip heavyweight brands like Microsoft, and other key Tech and artificial intelligence parties of various backgrounds and focused specialities, are a necessity to ensure infrastructure and future readiness. I was pleased to have attended and spoke at the Microsoft MEA Summit; the Government of Abu Dhabi will continue to work with all public and private stakeholders, including with GCC cross-border initiatives, to flesh out the right frameworks and environments required to take maintain competitive advantages and alongside global peer cities.”

His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, met with Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice President & President of Microsoft Middle East & Africa and Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, on the side-lines of a Microsoft regional event hosted in the UAE’s capital, where the global technology company reiterated its commitment to the emirate, its government, and its business community.

Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice President and President: Microsoft Middle East and Africa said: “Microsoft has served as a proud, longstanding partner to the leadership of Abu Dhabi in its journey to establish the Emirate as a regional hub for technological innovation. Our investments in infrastructure and skilling, coupled with our steadfast commitment to growing and empowering our local partner network, demonstrate our devotion to supporting the leadership in bringing Abu Dhabi’s Economic vision to life."

SAUDI ARABIA’S AL-KHALDI HOLDING CO. HARMONIZES GLOBAL OPERATIONS WITH INFOR

Transportation and logistics leader deploys Infor enterprise solution suite to boost stability and performance

Infor announced that Al-Khaldi Holding Co. has gone live with Infor industry-specific cloud solutions, including multitenant Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), as its digital backbone to automate, gain visibility, and boost efficiency and agility to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia, the wider Gulf region, and internationally.

Al-Khaldi Holding Co. made the announcement at a special ceremony at its headquarters in Al Khobar, attended by the CEO Megren Al-Khaldi and his top management, board members and the team who implemented the solutions. They were joined by Infor executives Kerry Koutsikos, Infor VP and general manager for the Middle East and Africa, and Salem Machaka, vice president, global professional services.

Founded in 1972, Al-Khaldi Holding Co. is a transportation and logistics company with headquarters in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The business started as a logistics entity and has grown to become one of the largest companies in the kingdom. Today, Al-Khaldi is well regarded in the region for its up-to-date facilities, trucks and technology, as well as its overall reliability and expediency,

meeting the needs of Oil and Gas and Petrochemical companies like ARAMCO and SABIC.

Al-Khaldi chose Infor’s industry-specific cloud solution, along with Infor Birst, to automate its shared services across its business units and to enhance various aspects of its operations, including transportation and fleet management, contracting, third-party logistics (3PL), warehouse management, building materials, and trading.

STARLINK SIGNS UP WITH RAPID7 FOR MIDDLE EAST DISTRIBUTION

This collaboration will aim to enable enterprises with continuous cloud security and compliance

cater to the Middle East distribution of the Rapid7 portfolio.

Today’s threat landscape is boundaryless and the attack techniques are novel, which can come as a nasty surprise. With enterprises transitioning to the cloud, cloud-focused threats are on the rise and the need to detect risks and respond in real-time is becoming a high priority across various industries. With a very strong combination of cloud risk management and threat detection capabilities, Rapid7 empowers enterprises to secure their businesses by reducing the attack surface and eliminating threats with zero compromise.

StarLink, an Infinigate Group Company, today announced expansion of its Risk and Compliance portfolio with the onboarding of Rapid7, a leader in cloud risk and threat detection. This partnership will

Ahmed Diab, COO, StarLink commented, “The SecOps teams are weighed down by the enormous load and velocity of threats and are under tremendous pressure to ensure their organization’s data and assets are secure. The two comprehensive offers by

WSO2 CLOSES 2022 ON A HIGH

Rapid7 - Threat Complete and Cloud Risk

Complete - empower the teams to contain advanced threats and deliver world class cloud security. Rapid7 strengthens our Risk and Compliance portfolio and jointly we look forward to providing an innovative experience to enterprises and keeping their businesses secure and protected.”

“We are delighted to have forged this strategic partnership with StarLink, which reaffirms our commitment to helping our customers and channel partners across the Middle East,” said David Howorth, Vice President EMEA Sales, Rapid7. “With the adoption of cloud technologies increasing rapidly across the region, we believe that StarLink shares our vision to simplify the complex by providing a relevant platform of security solutions to support their extensive partner network.”

The year saw the expansion of WSO2’s worldwide customers, revenues, team and partner network

WSO2 a global leader in digital transformation technologies, today announced that it is on track to close this financial year with 30% year-over-year (YoY) growth. Contributing to customer adoption was WSO2’s participation in several of the world’s most influential tech and software development conferences visited by over 500,000 industry experts in 2022. More than 800 customers in over 90 countries— including government agencies and global leaders in financial services, communications, healthcare, and technology—now rely on WSO2’s products and solutions.

In 2022, WSO2 saw additional gains, including:

• Double-digit growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) across the company’s business units

• Extension of the partner network to over 200 across the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific

• Expansion of WSO2’s global team to 900-plus employees

• Global recognition in analyst reports from Gartner, G2, Forrester, and KuppingerCole, among others

• Two new offices incorporated in Singapore and Malaysia

In 2022, WSO2 invested significantly in expanding its global market presence by participating in 100-plus events, including the global Gartner Summits and Symposiums, GITEX (Dubai), KubeCon + CloudNativeCon (North America), and Identity Week (UK and Singapore).

WSO2's strong growth has persisted despite global economic uncertainty. Many organizations have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives to enable online communications, collaboration, and commerce, reducing project schedules from years to months or weeks. These companies increasingly rely on WSO2 for API management, integration, and customer identity and access management

(CIAM) in order to innovate new, secure digital services and applications faster. WSO2’s next-generation cloud solutions: Choreo, Asgardeo, and WSO2 Private CIAM Cloud, help wider audiences take advantage of the company’s solutions technologies.

“For a company founded in Sri Lanka to stand side by side at leading global events with technology giants like Microsoft, Google, and Intel is an impressive feat. It demonstrates the company’s, and our people’s, standing within the industry”, said Radhik Colombage, vice president of corporate marketing at WSO2. “In the past year alone, we’ve presented at over 100 events, speaking to thousands on diverse platforms and stages. These events attract the who’s who, the movers-and-shakers, and thought leaders of next-generation industries. That is a massive accomplishment, showing how much we’ve grown as a company over the past two decades.

Ahmed Diab COO, StarLink

FACILIO LOOKS TO DOUBLE ITS FOOTPRINT IN 2023

Rolls out product enhancements to directly impact real estate owners and operators’ business revenue by lowering operational costs & optimizing performance

Facilio manages over 10,000+ properties globally, of which about 50 million sq ft is located in the GCC region. The SaaS company, which provides AI-driven property operations & maintenance software, is looking to grow this 100% by the end of 2023. Having doubled its workforce in the last one year, Facilio continues to make strategic hires and expand its channel partner network.

“The Middle East is a critical market for us, within which UAE, KSA and Qatar are where the majority of our customers are based. We currently manage 50 million sq ft space in this region, spread across commercial offices, residential, healthcare, hospitality & retail. We are aiming to double this by the end of 2023,” says Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO of Facilio.

He adds, “The C-suite has started viewing property operations technology as a strate-

gic investment and wants better real-time visibility into how their real estate portfolios are performing. We have added product enhancements aimed at catering to this requirement.

As per a recent poll with over 200+ Middle East - based O&M professionals, 72% said real estate owners / operators should directly invest in the CaFM software and own the data. In line with this, Facilio has strengthened its current product suite with an ‘Exec. Visibility Dashboard’. This dashboard gives a high-level overview to the senior leadership teams across property verticals enabling them to track critical O&M parameters around portfolio performance. It will help them make data-informed decisions that will directly impact their company’s bottomline by reducing operational costs and increasing productivity.

Facilio recently launched their AI-driven

Connected Retail product to help retail portfolios such as convenience stores, food & fashion retail chains remotely monitor and control systems, deploy optimization strategies at scale, and improve energy savings & asset performance.

TURTLEFIN PARTNERS WITH THE CONTINENTAL GROUP IN THE UAE

Turtlefin will onboard new insurers on their platform to provide seamless access to the users of The Continental Group

Through this strategic partnership, Turtlefin will onboard new insurers on their cutting-edge platform to provide seamless access to the users of The Continental Group. This will lead to increased insurer participation bringing in more choices to clients to make the right decision on their insurance needs. The solution will bring significant operational efficiencies through the automation of proposal journeys, management reporting and dashboards, which will be accessible from a single source rather than multiple dependencies.

Turtlefin, India's leading Insurtech platform, has announced a partnership with The Continental Group, one of the leading insurance intermediaries and financial services solutions providers in the UAE. Turtlefin will provide its leading SaaS platform modules, enabling The Continental Group's distribution teams to access relevant information and seamlessly customize proposals for their clients.

Amreesh Kher Chief Partnership Distribution Officer of Turtlefin said, "The Continental Group is one of the leading financial intermediaries in the UAE. With Turtlefin's seamless digital journey that we offer across multiple insurers, users at The Continental Group will save time on quotations and proposals, thus enhancing their sales efficiency. Adding to this, Mr Laxmikant Pawar – Head of MENA at Turtlefin said "This partnership is important for us as it re-affirms our belief in the Middle East markets' potential and will benefit The Continental Group's extensive distribution network."

Prabhu Ramachandra CEO of Facilio

SOPHOS LAUNCHES MDR SERVICE INTEGRATING VENDOR AGNOSTIC TELEMETRY

Introduces Sophos Marketplace and $1 Million Breach Protection Warranty

Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, announced the general availability of Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) with new industry-first threat detection and response capabilities. Sophos is arguably the first endpoint security provider to integrate vendor agnostic telemetry from third-party security technologies into its MDR offering, providing unprecedented visibility and detection across diverse operating environments. Sophos also introduced the Sophos Marketplace and $1 million Sophos Breach Protection Warranty. The need for MDR services and specialized defenders has never been greater, as shown in today’s new research, “LockBit 3.0 ‘Black’ Attacks and Leaks Reveal Wormable Capabilities and Tooling,” from Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. The research analyzes tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used by LockBit, one of today’s most prolific ransomware gangs, that are similar to BlackMatter, and explains how the latest version of the ransomware, LockBit 3.0, adds wormable capabilities and uses legitimate pentesting tools to evade detection.

In a second article, “Detection Tools and Human Analysis Lead to a Security NonEvent,” Sophos X-Ops details a recent Sophos MDR use case involving credential theft, another technique that allows adversaries to impersonate legitimate users. In this case, the Sophos MDR team combined its threat hunting intelligence with information from the customer’s third-party security appliance to thwart an attack.

“The only way to reliably detect and neutralize determined attackers who increasingly combine the use of pentesting tools, stolen credentials and other stealthy tactics to maneuver undetected is with 24×7 eyes on glass, operating on signals from a diversity of event sources and employing actionable threat intelligence into real-time attacker behaviors,” said Joe Levy,

chief technology and product officer at Sophos. “Organizations are struggling to keep pace with well-funded adversaries who are continuously innovating and industrializing their ability to evade defensive technologies alone. Sophos MDR can discover and intercept these steps before they result in a data breach, ransomware or other type of costly compromise. Sadly, ransomware persists as one of the greatest cybercrime threats to organizations, as evidenced in the Sophos 2023 Threat Report. We’re raising the industry standard for how critical MDR services can be delivered to broaden visibility for better, faster detection and response.”

Industry-First Detection and Response and the New Sophos Marketplace

Sophos is delivering MDR across both its own product portfolio as well as end users’ existing security deployments. To support this effort, Sophos launched the Sophos Marketplace, an open ecosystem of more than 75 technology integrations, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Check Point, CrowdStrike, Darktrace, Fortinet, Google, Microsoft, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, Rapid7, and many others.

Expanded visibility across these integrations and diverse operating environments enables Sophos MDR experts to better detect and remediate attacks with speed and precision, regardless of customers’ existing security solutions.

In addition to Sophos MDR, Sophos Marketplace provides third-party integrations for Sophos’ portfolio of services, products and technologies. Telemetry is automatically consolidated, correlated and prioritized with insights from the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem and the Sophos X-Ops threat intelligence unit. Extended Protection Warranty

Sophos unveiled the new Sophos Breach Protection Warranty that covers up to $1 million in response expenses for organizations protected by Sophos MDR Complete, Sophos’ most comprehensive MDR offering. Underwritten solely by Sophos, the warranty covers endpoints – both Windows and Mac devices – and servers, and unlike competitive offerings, there are no warranty tiers or duration limitations for active customers. This Sophos Breach Protection Warranty is automatically included with all purchases and renewals of Sophos MDR Complete annual subscriptions through Sophos’ global reseller partner network.

Availability

According to the company, over 13,000 organizations already rely on its’ existing MDR service for 24/7 threat hunting, detection and response by an expert team as a fully-managed service. The newest offering with third party integration capabilities is available now, and the service is customizable with different tiers and threat response options, enabling customers to choose whether to have the Sophos MDR operations team execute full-scale incident response, provide collaborative assistance for confirmed threats, or deliver detailed alert notifications for their security operations teams to manage themselves.

Joe Levy Chief Technology and Product Officer, Sophos

ORGANIZATIONS IGNORE SECURITY RED FLAGS AND JUMP INTO THE METAVERSE

A global study by Tenable revealed that cybersecurity is the top consideration as businesses decide on investing in the metaverse

Tenable, the Exposure Management company, published the results of a global study that revealed that cybersecurity is the top consideration as businesses decide on investing in the metaverse. In fact, even in a challenging global economy, concerns about macroeconomic conditions trailed behind cybersecurity worries. This sentiment underscores the rising criticality of cybersecurity in a digital economy to ensure it is a safe and secure environment for users.

The study, “Measure Twice, Cut Once: Meta-curious Organizations Relay Security Concerns Even as They Plunge Into Virtual Worlds,” surveyed 1,500 IT, cybersecurity and DevOps professionals in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. The study examines how organizations are approaching the opportunities and challenges associated with building, securing and participating in the metaverse, as well as offering insights into the risks and rewards of investing in this new technology.

While still in its relative infancy, organizations have begun to explore the metaverse and its capabilities. In fact 23% of organizations have already ventured into the metaverse, and 58% plan to conduct business in the metaverse within the next year.

Less than half of respondents feel very confident in their ability to curb threats in this new environment, the metaverse poses both new and legacy cybersecurity risks and challenges. According to survey respondents, threats that are either “somewhat” or “very” likely to take place in the metaverse include:

● Conventional phishing, malware and ransomware attacks (81%)

● Compromised machine identities and API transactions (84%)

● Cloning of voice and facial features and hijacking video recordings using Avatars (79%)

● Invisible-avatar eavesdropping or 'man in the room' attacks (78%)

In addition to the cybersecurity threats, respondents identified several major barriers to entry, including the prospect of security breaches and identity theft (34%), the lack of a clear process for data privacy (33%) and the lack of experienced security professionals to secure the metaverse (32%).

“As with any new business opportunity, first movers have the advantage and the risk,” said Bob Huber, chief security officer and head of research, Tenable. “The foundation of the cybersecurity program must be solid before making a big leap into largely unknown territory and drastically expanding your attack surface.

Bob Huber Chief Security Officer and Head of Research, Tenable

Forward- thinking organizations that take the time and make wise investments in their security personnel and the security and integrity of their infrastructure are more likely to be successful in the metaverse or any other technology investment.”

Other key findings from the report include:

● 87% of respondents are in favor of regulating the metaverse.

● Nine in 10 respondents agree that organizations need to adequately develop a cybersecurity framework prior to offering services in such a virtual environment.

● More than half (55%) of respondents said their organization will need to invest in training their current employees about safe cybersecurity practices to support their investment in the metaverse.

● When asked about the skills required for the metaverse, respondents cited UI/UX designing, 3D modeling, blockchain and gaming development, cybersecurity and software development as important development areas.

OUTLOOK: ACCELERATING DIGITAL ADOPTION

This year will see more intensified digital transformation initiatives as stakeholders across different sectors are now more receptive to adopt new technologies with multi cloud services now clearly the preferred form of IT consumption. Challenges on the cybersecurity and skills front will continue to confront organizations even as they onboard new technologies to optimise productivity and competence in a hybrid work world.

Ram Narayanan, Country Manager at Check Point Software Technologies, Middle East says, “In 2023, some of the technologies which are anticipated to go mainstream are Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). We also continue to see breakneck adoption of AI/ML tech in the military, finance and in medicine. As this tech continues to grow, major players look to consolidate these technologies along with rapid expanding use of AR/VR. Additionally, smart cities are on the horizon as many governments want to leverage technology for modern living and public services. Security is rarely even an afterthought for these platforms, and therefore businesses will be looking for technologies and solutions around these areas as well in the coming year.”

The focus on cloud as the underpinning to true digital transformation and scalability is driving huge investments into cloud adoption. Many organizations having already deployed many of their workloads on cloud and even multi cloud, will now seek to work towards cloud maturity with strategies that help improve business value. They will be well placed to further take advantages of new technologies.

Sakkeer Hussain, Director - Sales and Marketing at D-Link Middle East says, “According to Gartner, end-user expenditure on public cloud will increase from $490.3B in 2022 to $591.8B in 2023, a growth of 20.7%. Government policies in this region as well as the businesses are now shifting from the traditional revenue sources to a more data-driven economy where the organisations capture earnings from digital transformation as the focus moves on post-pandemic recovery and future economic development. As part of their digital transformation plan, businesses in the Middle East are quickly implementing new technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Without cloud computing as the foundation, which enables massive amounts of data to be handled extraordinarily fast, on-demand, the adoption of such technologies simply would not be feasible at scale.”

However, Ram has an alternative and debatable perspective regarding cloud adoption.

He says, “Cloud transformation is expected to slow due to cost and complexity, with many firms considering bringing workloads back in-house or to private data centres to reduce their overall threat surface. Also, in multi-hybrid environment, many CISOs struggle to build a comprehensive security program with multiple vendors.” IT spending in the region is expected to be on the higher side this

More technology disruption will continue to shape the digital transformation journeys of organizations

year with organizations geared up to ramp up their digital transformation pursuits.

Sakkeer says, “We believe 2023 will be another growth year for us. Gartner has forecasted that IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to total $178.1 billion in 2023, growing 3.1% from 2022. Customers across sectors are identifying technologies and strategies that will help them to speed up their digital transformation journeys. We will play a vital role in helping them realize these digital goals.

In terms of challenges, supply chain may still be a concern as companies at a global level figure out how they can be more dynamic and respond faster to changing economic conditions. Wireless infrastructures bring in enhanced efficiency, flexibility and cost savings. And in this regard, D-Link is laying the foundations for a world that’s more connected, smarter and more convenient.”

Alongside these changes, IT decentralization and democratization seems to be evolving.

One of the profound changes shaping the digital hybrid work world is that as technological expertise continues to permeate throughout enterprises, non-IT employees and IT-adjacent service delivery teams will use low/no-code platforms to build and deploy simple applications. According to a recent ManageEngine study - IT at Work : 2022 & Beyond, 42% of global IT decision makers believe that each department will have its own IT team in the next five years.

According to said Rajesh Ganesan, president at ManageEngine, "In the current digital-first, hybrid work environment, more employees than ever are deciding for themselves how their technologies will be chosen, deployed, and used, which has led to an increase in the use of low/no-code solutions. Also, AI models will continue to evolve; scalable platforms will be preferable to individual tools, and enterprises will make some tough hiring decisions in 2023."

He goes on to elaborate that AI will be among the major trends expected to shape the year.

“In 2023, we will see AI models with better precision, being built with a limited amount of training data. Techniques like few shot learning and transfer learning will see increased adoption, and the gap between natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision (CV) will continue to blur. As an example, we're already seeing applications that allow us to search through a recording for a particular topic; then, by conversing with a chatbot, we're brought to the relevant timestamps.”

On the cybersecurity front, there is no respite as more sophisticated attack methods are always coming up. Added to this is the extended geopolitical turmoil emanating from the Russia Ukraine war which has enhanced the cybersecurity threat landscape as well.

Ram says, “Check Point Software has been constantly growing in the region and we are continuing to invest with more resources and is committed to providing organizations with the ability to operate with the highest level of security. Every year, specific

dangers intensify as cybercriminals concentrate their efforts on a particularly effective or lucrative attack strategy such as ransomware or cryptojacking. In 2022 cyber criminals and state-linked threat actors continued to exploit organizations’ hybrid working practices, and the increase in these attacks is showing no signs of slowing as the Russia – Ukraine conflict continues to have a profound impact globally. As threat landscape is dynamically evolving and critical data being stored across different assets, the demand for cybersecurity has increased.”

He goes to say, “We’re entering a new era of hacktivism, with increasing attacks motivated by political and social causes. According to Check Point Software’s cyber security predictions for 2023, Hacktivism, deepfakes, attacks on business collaboration tools, new regulatory mandates, and pressure to cut complexity will top organizations’ security agendas over coming year. As threat landscape is dynamically evolving and critical data being stored across different assets, the demand for cybersecurity has increased. The UAE has seen a surge in cyberattacks after the Covid 19 outbreak started. In fact, cyberattacks across all industry sectors increased by 151% in the UAE in the third quarter of 2022 compared to 2021. Looking ahead, organizations are becoming aware of the risks and are making sure they have the appropriate solutions in place to prevent, without disrupting the normal business flow, the majority of attacks including the most advanced ones. Organizations have started to see security as business enabler.”

Sakkeer Hussain Director - Sales and Marketing, D-Link ME

Training and upskilling

As the Technology landscape continues to evolve and disrupt in an accelerated manner, the challenges will be for IT and even non-IT employees to keep up with the technology skills required at their workplace.

Rajesh says, “The rapid evolution of technology and the changing business landscape has put pressure on businesses to find and retain talent; the question of whether enterprises should find fresh talent or reskill existing employees is one that enterprises will have to make. In the wake of the Great Resignation, some companies assumed it would be easy to find new talent, but that really hasn't been the case, especially in regard to software-engineering workers. Factors like diversity and inclusion will continue to influence hiring decisions, and at ManageEngine, we personally believe that continuing to train, educate, and foster the careers of existing employees is the best course of action. That said, enterprises will have to choose for themselves how best to proceed.”

The IT channel too needs to keep up with more training. Vendors with a strong channel have the onus to ensure their partner keep pace with the technical skills required to enable their customers in the next phase of their digital transformation journeys.

Sakkeer says, “Our biggest priority is to put customers at the heart of everything we do. And the next biggest priority is to empower our channel partners to successfully grow their businesses and help them curate it to the digital era. We will continue to

introduce pioneering offerings across cloud, networking, security, to fuel customers’ digital journeys.”

He adds, “A challenge that we will see is the growing skills gap. We are offering training and mentoring programs to address this issue and ensuring our channel network is well trained to support customers.”

Check Point Software Technologies is investing in expanding the technical and sales expertise of their channel in furthering their intent of enhancing their reach into new markets and verticals.

Ram says, “Our long term goal is to expand our reach – vertically and geographically - in the region by bringing our solutions to businesses in the public and private sectors and continuing to provide our focused insights in cyber threat landscape in the UAE and overall region. We are expanding by investing in additional sales and technical teams to continuously engage with our stakeholders and educate them on the current threat landscape and how Check Point Software’s solutions can be of value to their organizations. We intent to develop and grow strategic relationships with local channel partners and educate them so that they will be able to present the need and value to their customers and finally, educating the next generation of cyber security professionals in UAE with our broad range of Cyber Security training programs.” It is indeed a brave new future with no borders as far as connectivity and cybersecurity goes and hence organizations need to find the balance when adopting technologies and ensuring they are securing their digital assets.

Rajesh Ganesan President, ManageEngine Ram Narayanan Country Manager at Check Point Software Technologies, ME

ENABLING PARTNERS FOR THE MULTI CLOUD ERA

Maya Zakhour, Director Channel Sales - Eastern Europe, META, Iberia & Latin America at NetApp discusses the company’s focus on enabling partners in the multi cloud era

will be rolled out only in FY 24 - So how is the transition to the new program being approached with the partner community? How does this impact partners currently?

new validation, recognition and rewards for partners’ investments in competencies and services, and the accelerated growth structure allows partners to contribute transformational value to joint customers.

Maya Zakhour

How was 2022 for NetApp's channel business and partners?

Overall 2022 was an exciting year for NetApp. We had a number of new product launches, expanded our alliance partner network and acquired new customers. We delivered a solid Q2 in a dynamic environment, with all-time highs for revenue, billings, gross profit dollars, operating income, and EPS. We are constantly focused on innovation and in delivering sustainable solutions which has been key in driving a healthy financial result. We believe our modern approach to the hybrid multicloud delivers significant value to our customers and creates sizeable opportunity for us and our partners are benefitting from this as well.

NetApp announced its new partner program towards the end of the year that

Our partners are excited for the NetApp Partner Sphere and are looking forward to a simple framework supporting each of their unique go-to-market strategy. The programs aims to provide flexibility and automation to ease partner processes, and consistency for all partners and sales motions from a single program with clear tiers and objectives. As part of these strategic changes we are shifting away from Specializations to identify partner capabilities and utilize Solution Competencies aligned to key NetApp focus areas - Cloud Solutions, Hybrid Cloud and AI & Analytics. These competencies will be included in the NetApp Partner Sphere program requirements. Partners will be able to begin earning associated competencies within each category, showcasing their ability to deliver customer success across the NetApp portfolio by the end of the calendar year.

How does the new partner program enable partner better in the multi cloud era and in addressing customer requirements better?

The new cloud-focused and services-led NetApp Partner Sphere delivers a flexible path to advancement and growth for all partner sales motions. By consolidating and simplifying multiple programs into one that includes all partner types, business models and routes to market, this program enables partners to evolve their business in the cloud. The program offers robust training and support to help partners capture cloud market share, brings

NetApp seems to have a growing focus on sustainability solutions for datacentre operations. Is the channel respoding favorably to this change?

Our partners understand the importance of a sustainable future and are fully supportive of our efforts to drive adoption of sustainable solutions that not only benefit our customer but are also cost effective.

How do you see the role of the channel evolving in ensuring customers are successful with their digital transformation journeys and objectives? Are all your partners finding success in evolving their approaches to market and different verticals?

Digital transformation is not just about technology. However, we believe that Cloud is at the heart of any DX initiative. It is transforming large organizations and helping smaller companies adapt the product offering to an evolving marketplace. When it comes to cloud, there is no better place to go than NetApp. We’ve been planning for the evolved cloud for a long time, so our portfolio is built for hybrid multicloud and continuous innovation. We have deep relationships with the biggest cloud providers and can offer what most vendors can’t—freedom from lock-in and walled gardens. Our partners have the freedom to offer customers the clouds they want to use, and how they want it, without the burden of complexity.

Director Channel SalesEastern Europe, META, Iberia & Latin America, NetApp

RAPID TRANSFORMATION

The year will continue to see industries adopting next generation technologies to enhance their competencies and serve their customers better

operations supported by the right technology for analytics would be crucial for us in the coming years.”

Ramakrishnan Natarajan, IT Head at Emirates Hospitals Group says, “2022 was a period of adopting next-generation Information Security technologies including Zero-Trust, EDR and establishing SOC services, automation of some key backend processes. In addition, we successfully initiated cloud migration of our key workloads. The priorities for this year hover around Data Analytics, Application modernization, rolling out our Tier 1 EMR to our key hospitals and day-surgery centers. Infrastructure wise, we are focussing on next gen storage/network and wireless technologies for enabling enriched performance and patient experience.”

There is more faith in the digital transformation process as the initiatives to date start paying off.

With transformation progressing at breakneck speed, the IT leadership at most companies have a huge role to play in advancing the IT capabilities of their respective organizations. Adopting multi-cloud, enabling AI/ML based solutions, adopting lowcode no-code technologies, ramping up cybersecurity further are among some of the common decision scenarios for these leaders.

Aditya Kaushik, Head of ICT at Zakher Marine International Inc says, “in terms of IT Investments, the progression for Digital transformation would continue across the industry. The momentum of Cloud Computing to reduce fixed costs, SaaS based applications for greater agility, Machine Learning for process efficiencies and IoT for edge device analytics would continue. Cybersecurity investments would also be crucial as we scale into these new technologies. In addition to progressing the transformation across key business areas, an additional area of focus for the Marine/Energy industry will be decarbonization, so we would be looking for solutions that help us to monitor, reduce and manage this. The overarching utilization of green solutions across our

“With digital transformation, it's not only about the digital experience, but it's also about the digital data that it generates. Any industry that does not have digitized data, cannot foresee the future and do any analytics on it. Digital transformation is very important, because firstly, it eases the journey of a patient, of the end user and the business. And second, digital transformation is the way forward because it is it reduces the time and increases operational efficiency. So definitely it is very important to especially healthcare where you do see patients waiting in queues. When the digital services are implemented to streamline the end to end patient experience, that really increases their satisfaction level,” says Ramakrishnan.

“IT investments so far have played a significant role in streamlining many areas of our operations. The adoption of key technologies and systems have allowed us to achieve greater efficiency, better operational control and transparency across our business. While there are still many areas that need to be automated, the investments have helped to enhance the adoption culture and even create greater participation in the digital acceleration,” says Aditya.

Accelerated cloud adoption along with automation of some of the workflows has unleashed better efficiencies in operations in critical verticals such as healthcare.

Aditya Kaushik Head of ICT, Zakher Marine International Inc

Ramakrishnan says, “We have definitely begun to reap the benefits of world class infrastructure, the scalability and agility of the cloud as well as a modernised data center. With our automation initiatives we have seen a huge improvement in employee satisfaction and enhanced patient experience. Our patient affairs department have been very innovative and together we have been able to eliminate the complexities of exiting processes and achieved better efficacy and visibility.”

AI in the mix

With AI gaining traction across possible deployment scenarios, there is an increased potential of use case deployments across industries.

“Healthcare in itself has probably the most number of AI use cases which are already part of existing application elements and we intend to extend it for predictive and prescriptive analysis for better patient and business outcomes, “ says Ramakrishnan. Indeed, numerous solutions have emerged to enhance healthcare using AI. For instance, there are solutions using deep learning platform to analyze unstructured medical data to give doctors better insight into a patient’s real-time needs. AI is beginning to be used in screenings, diagnostic tests to detect illnesses at an early stage and help cure.

The application of AI across other verticals such as Marine and Logistics as well helps enhance process efficiencies considerably.

Aditya says, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to be applied across a wide range of industries and use cases. Across the board, this technology provides a significant disruption to some of the business processes by replacing not just the routine / mundane roles through this technology but also decision-insights based actions that will greatly reduce human effort. Some industries such as retail, banking and healthcare are finding greater adoption to this technology where it is being rapidly deployed. However, in the Marine, Logistics and Energy sector too, there are specific business cases within operational areas such as predictive equipment failure, energy consumption and improving quality control. Overall, we would see an increased investment and focus into AI as business models transform to achieve improved efficiency and reduced costs.”

IT upskilling

In the face of constant technology disruptions, it becomes quite critical for continuous IT skilling of IT teams. This is also a challenge as many studies point to scarcity of competent resources across several domains including cybersecurity.

Aditya says, “IT Skilling will continue to be an ongoing challenge as businesses adopt new technology which needs to be aligned with

skill sets that can effectively manage these new IT landscapes. This process is rapidly changing, and businesses need to balance the key resources for current systems with the resources required to manage the new technology being deployed. While some may adopt to re-train the existing resources, the speed of adoption of new technology is fast outpaced by the ability of existing resources to upskill themselves, creating a gap in efficiently managing this with existing resources. The need for continuous upskilling has always been a key requirement within the IT industry across all levels and this is now becoming more relevant today. A support culture for providing training opportunities and roadmap of how resources align with the Transformation is crucial to achieve a successful Digital Transformation for any organization.”

Ramakrishnan concurs with the need for constant upskilling when he says, “With the rate of growth of new and enhanced solution every year it is definitely not easy to keep up. Upskilling is most certainly and unavoidable element of any IT Team today. However, they do keep the teams motivated and engaged. In some cases keeping in mind the expense of upskilling and high attrition out-sourcing should be strongly considered.”

To sum up, industries now are embracing next generation technologies with less reservation than ever before and they look set to reap the benefits.

Ramakrishnan Natarajan

IT Head at Emirates Hospitals Group

ENABLING HYBRID WORKPLACE

Loubna Imenchal - Head of Enterprise Business - Logitech AMECA discusses the year that was and the outlook ahead for the company

What is the regional growth outlook for the year 2023 from your perspective?

Every industry intends to break new ground through digitization, and video collaboration tools are one of the key drivers to achieve this vision. Logitech is uniquely positioned to continue enabling digitization by assisting organisations and individuals to meet changing workplace trends through video collaboration tools and solutions. Logitech enterprise business is driven to address workplace transformation with solutions that optimize hybrid work for employees, IT, and business leaders. We will also continue to help businesses and their employees succeed at hybrid work, re-tooling work, and re-designing workspaces so that the job can get done from anywhere. Logitech will further continue to use “The New Logic of Learning” which offers solutions for education that spark innovation and open up possibilities so that students of all learning styles, backgrounds, and locations can thrive.

Do you foresee external challenges impacting overall growth?

How was 2022 was for your business in the Middle East region? What were some of the major gains and highlights?

We successfully launched new products such as Brio 505, Logitech Sight, and, Logi Dock which made it to the Time Magazine Best Inventions for 2022. Logitech also continued to champion meeting equity through Logitech solutions to encourage equal participation in virtual environments by allowing everyone to be seen and heard clearly, no matter where they are. A recent survey that was conducted in October of last year in the UAE revealed the critical role of video conferencing technology in solving the challenges arising due to the lack of meeting equity. The survey also revealed that more than 7 in 10 respondents (77%) agreed that hybrid meetings are more engaging when video conferencing systems with high-quality audio and video output are used. Logitech’s products and solutions also helped businesses create a workplace that supports enablement, whether their teams were working at the office, at home, or a combination of the two. Logitech continued to support education and healthcare sectors with innovative products to efficiently and effectively adopt and adapt to the hybrid work era.

In a digital-first world, where 53% of people are likely to consider transitioning to hybrid work models in the year ahead, companies need to embrace this new flexible work model to retain talent. This is just one side of the spectrum. The other side highlights the capabilities of companies to be able to reimagine their business to accommodate workplace trends, as they evolve. Skills gap is also a concern because hybrid/remote working requires a skilled IT staff that can manoeuvre situations arising outside of a company’s perimeter. Companies in 2023 will continue to see challenges in the workspace, hybrid and remote work models and virtual healthcare and hybrid learning will continue to be discussed widely. Digital transformation needs to remain a top strategic business priority for companies as they continue to reinvent the future of work.

What are some of the key priorities for the company in the new year in terms of product line expansion, investments, workforce?

Logitech will continue to empower the new logic of work by ensuring equitable meetings, encouraging engagement, facilitating seamless collaboration, and placing all meeting participants on an equal footing regardless of where they join from. Furthermore, Logitech will continue to develop the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology into workspaces not only to make meetings smarter and simpler for employees but also to assist IT administrators in understanding how meeting spaces are utilised over time, generating insights to help monitor room usage and adapt office floorplans accordingly, which in return continues to drive Logitech’s solutions forward towards perfection.

Loubna Imenchal Head of Enterprise Business - Logitech AMECA

REGIONAL PRE-EMINENCE IN PRINTER DISTRIBUTION

Mithun Jagadeep, Business Unit Head, Mitsumi Distribution FZCO discusses the distributor’s focus on the printer distribution business across the region

Elaborate on the focus Mitsumi has in the printer and supplies domain as part of its distribution portfolio. What is the overall outlook for this part of the Business?

In the United Arab Emirates and all of East Africa, Mitsumi is the preeminent authorized distributor for printers. It has successfully captured a larger proportion of the market share in the countries that were mentioned. We are investigating the prospect of broadening our presence the KSA and Africa French speaking countries.

Elaborate on the peripherals business product lines of focus?

In the Africa and UAE regions, Mitsumi Distribution is the preeminent distributor of various business product lines that pertain to peripherals. To ensure that our customers in the countries listed receive the highest quality products, we have formed strategic alliances with some of the most well-known brands in the world. As a next step, we will be concentrating on all the product lines that are currently available across all the peripheral brands that we stock in order to meet the needs of all of our resellers.

Discuss the major printer segments where growth comes from. How has digital transformation and paperless strategies been challenges for the overall printer business growth? When looking at growth in terms of revenue, the laser technology is the one that stands out. It is anticipated that the printing industry will experience few challenges as a result of the digital transformation. In this fast-paced digital age, office printers and hard copies are still essential for business success. Even though technology has made the business world a lot better, there will never be a better way to keep records than with paper documents kept in a safe place.

Have you partnered with multiple manufacturers for printers and for the other peripherals?

Currently, we have distribution partnerships with HP and Canon. Under HP we are serving Deskjet, LaserJet, colour laserJet and Multi-functional laserJet printer, Laser tank. Whereas, for Canon we promote Deskjet, LaserJet, OfficeJet and Smart tank. We are in process of expanding our printer product range. Such as: Plotters, and Managed Print Services.

Elaborate if retail is growing for printer sales? How are you supporting this?

During the pandemic, retail printer businesses that shifted to online platforms experienced tremendous development. In addition, most sales were generated by the educational sector. Currently, the printing industry is booming in the retail sector. We have

several promotions scheduled to increase printer business in the coming months to sustain the growth. such as special offers, special discounts, incentive programs for salespeople, product training for resellers, and streamlining the distribution process.

How many of your partners focus on printer and supplies business?

In total, we have between 125 and 150 business partners with whom we are primarily concerned with expanding our print and supply operations in the region. At the moment, despite the fact that we are still in the process of recovering from the pandemic, we are working hard to keep up with the volume of business that we normally do.

Mithun Jagadeep Business Unit Head, Mitsumi Distribution FZCO

HOW THE CLOUD WILL HELP MANAGE UNCERTAINTY IN 2023

Evolved cloud and Multicloud

The multicloud will increase in importance as more services move from on-premises to the cloud. According to research firm Gartner, it’s expected that on premises versus cloud spend will flip by 2025. While this continued migration to the cloud isn’t surprising, I anticipate cloud adoption will continue to accelerate in 2023 because of supply-chain issues requiring buyers to look beyond on premises hardware to ease procurement challenges and the need to pursue aggressive sustainability objectives. The rapid adoption of multiple clouds is even more interesting. In fact, 89% of companies are using multiple clouds to manage IT services, operations, and infrastructure. This seems to be a place some companies have “landed” out of necessity, or even by accident, as they worked to mitigate supply-chain issues by linking to multiple cloud providers who could each help them drive inno-

Matt Watts, Chief Evangelist at NetApp discusses some of the key trends that he believes will shape the year ahead including rapid adoption of the multi cloud, prioritising sustainability and addressing the skills gap

vation and ensure security, scalability, and flexibility outside their data center. This has brought about unnecessary complexity that companies will look to address through the adoption of common services across clouds.

Skills Gap

More companies adopting multiple clouds means the skills gap will move from fierce competition between employers to retain top talent, which I’d noted would be an issue in 2022, to one where niche skills will be required to succeed. It’s difficult finding talent that can work skillfully within one cloud. Creating teams skilled in managing multiple clouds becomes a significant challenge and can take extended periods to develop. Companies need teams that can innovate and build. If employees are only spending time on operations, they can’t innovate. This need will only intensify, and companies will need to become more comfortable in hiring for potential over talent, and be willing to provide the team members with the training they need to succeed.

Sustainability

Sustainability will only become more important to IT buyers, and they will require more data to support claims from their vendors. Vendors will need to show they are working toward (and achieving) greater sustainability throughout their value chains and delivering product features that enable their sustainability. They will have to work harder to increase energy efficiency with their facilities and on-premises equipment and provide improved methods for data categorization that enable buyers to look across their entire data estates and tier data, which is particularly effective in the cloud. When we consider that 68% of data is used once and then never again, we can see how moving this unused data to the cloud, where it can be tiered and moved to cold storage, is beneficial for the planet. Last year, I noted that sustainability was increasing in importance, but it has been interesting to see the level of sustainability specifications and feature granularity that buyers now demand when making purchasing decisions.

Cyber resilience and data protections

The current challenges in terms of health, economy and war mean that cyber-resilience is more crucial than ever before. Businesses and organisations will rely more than ever on IT resources to provide round-the-clock protection and quick recovery for their data. This is because the question is no longer whether they will be attacked, but rather when and how often, so we need to address the problem head-on and a small number of small and medium-size companies are still not prepared. Previously, a business’ cyber defence strategy focussed on anticipation of the attack, but today it is more about reacting during the attack and quick recovery after it. Detection, protection and remediation will be the watchwords of cybersecurity in 2023.

Quantum Hybrid Computing

Quantum hybrid computing will start to move from ideation toward practical application, problems such as elements of AI will be broken out and passed over to quantum systems for processing, we’ll start to see a blend of traditional HPC and Quantum to solve some of these most complex issues. This will also force us

to better address cybersecurity. Companies need to think about data encryption now more than ever. Criminals are increasingly sophisticated, and companies need to be equally sophisticated when it comes to their security measures. While this won’t happen overnight, the wheels have been set in motion for quantum to be a threat to encryption on sensitive data. For example: Imagine designing and building a military fighter jet, which can take more than a decade; Then it’s in service for 20 years and all the data associated with the plane and its missions remains classified for another 20 years. That data needs to be protected for upwards of 50 years. And a criminal only needs to steal that data once during that protracted timeframe and wait for the necessary Quantum power to decrypt to catch up. We need to be thinking much, much more carefully about how we protect data today, from simple data theft to more advanced kind of encryption and decryption techniques. Normal computers, even high-powered computers, would take decades to “break” these encryption algorithms. Quantum hybrid will be able to break existing encryption protocols in less than a decade so new encryption protocols and algorithms can be developed sooner. While I predicted in 2022 that companies would look to quantum to address more complex computing challenges. I’m pleased there is this level of progress and forward thinking within cybersecurity and a cloud-based approach to now solving security issues that once seemed unsolvable.

Matt Watts Chief Evangelist at NetApp

HOW CLOUD IS ASSISTING EMERGENCE OF ROBOTICS AS A SERVICE

The ability to move on-demand services for robotic assistance to a cloud platform will boost demand from small and medium businesses in the region, explains Doaa Sulaiman, robotics director of PROVEN Robotics.

Companies worldwide are now required to be agile in their customer service and development processes to compete in their sector due to the ongoing trend of digitization, especially in the post pandemic era. Nowadays, firms must reconsider their strategy to meet the modern digital era as competitiveness demands efficiency in various activities. It is evident that the world needs a sustainable and automated solution that meets both the customer and the owner-stakeholder requirements.

One promising strategy for businesses to automate operations, manage work seamlessly, and reduce costs is to implement robots as a service (RaaS) model. The RaaS model is continuously gain-

ing momentum within several organizations to combat operational challenges in the new era.

Automated machinery has always been one way to boost productivity and manage operations whenever human skills have been limited or unavailable onsite and in time.

Present day advanced robots are sufficiently intelligent to complete many well defined, repetitive manual tasks inside households, commercial establishments, large enterprises, and sprawling communities. Typical use cases for service robots include hospitality, cleaning, delivery, inspection, quality control, saniti-

zation, entertainment, security, across retail, , healthcare, logistics hubs, amongst others. Service robots are also designed by manufacturers with the primary function as collaborative, domestic, medical, entertainment, educational, amongst others.

However, service robots are seldom utilized around the clock and are significantly capital extensive. The robots must be programmed to recognize their physical parameters, the tasks they carry out daily, the owners, and the customers. These factors may have been limiting regional and global ramp-up.

Selected service providers like PROVEN Robotics in the GCC region have found a solution to this challenge through robotics as a service. RaaS offers a flexible alternative for small and medium enterprises considering employing robots but lacking the expertise or internal resources to maintain such robotic solutions. By renting robotic equipment and using a cloud-based subscription service, Robots as a Service enables a business to enjoy the advantages of robotic process automation. An ABI Research estimates that there will be 1.3 million installations of robotics as a service or RaaS by 2026, generating $34 billion in revenue.

A technical explanation provided by Wikipedia explains robotics as a service to be a cloud computing unit that facilitates integration of a robot and embedded devices into a cloud computing environment. In terms of service-oriented architecture, a RaaS unit includes services for performing functionality, a service directory for discovery and publishing, and service clients for user's direct access.

RaaS is intriguing the interest of businesses because it is more flexible, scalable, and affordable than traditional robotics initiatives. Given how expensive robots are, it may be years before businesses see a return on their investment. This has discouraged many businesses from making robot investments. Small- and medium-sized firms can use robots and automation without making this initial investment thanks to RaaS. Additionally, it enables businesses to easily and quickly scale up or down in response to shifting customer and market demands. RaaS offers less initial start-up capital and more predictable costs.

The price of hardware has also decreased due to globalization, and it is simple to sign up for and locate robust cloud computing systems that permit the inclusion of robots as a variable cost service with subscription plans. Additionally, since many businesses currently use the software as a service model, businesses are already at ease with the business model.

RaaS benefits numerous businesses across numerous industries. RaaS lowers the entry hurdle for other industries to test out and experiment with robotic solutions as they become aware of the uses for robots.

• Easy selection of the type of service

• Shorter implementation time and projects kick-off

• Easy selection of the type of robot

• Easy selection of the number of hours onsite versus the cost

• Shared set up model for a robot thereby reducing the professional skills cost

• On demand services can scale up or down based on seasonal and operational demand

RaaS can be considered an extension of Industrial Internet of Things that deals with intelligent devices that have adequate computing capacity. RaaS is also a financial model for the purchase and use of a physical services robot. Through a RaaS purchase contract, the buyer is paying for the use of the physical device through a subscription-based contract. RaaS is different than a lease contract, since the regional service provider continues to own the robotic device and carries the machine as an asset on its books.

Overall, it is safe to say that with this model, both the regional service provider and small and medium establishments are set on a mutual path of innovative returns. At PROVEN Robotics, our solutions are personalized, strategically designed, and aid your employees by increasing their job satisfaction. We provide on-site assistance and training for utilizing our technologically enhanced solutions, assuring sustained productivity growth.

Doaa Sulaiman Robotics Director, PROVEN Robotics

OUTTHINKING THE CYBER-ATTACKERS

Hadi Jaafarawi, Managing Director for Middle East at Qualys discusses 3 ways to see your technology suite as cyber-attackers do

The world of cybersecurity is overflowing with metaphor. We talk of “digital trenches”, “barbarians at the gate”, “digital estates” and “perimeters”. Even concepts like “virus” and “attack” are constructs we use to explain what is happening to non-initiates. We try to draw a line between unauthorized digital processes on a server that today may not even be in the same building, city, or country as the confused-looking senior executive we are trying to inspire to action.

Cyber cliché is as common as metaphor. “Defenders must get it right every time; attackers just need to get lucky once.” Sound familiar? Of course it does. The GCC’s attack surface has long caused CISOs and their teams to brace for the inevitable. They hunker down in the trenches doing the metaphorical equivalent of firing mortars in the fog — chasing down alerts that lead nowhere while the enemy sneaks through undetected and creates mayhem.

Regional SOCs are undermanned and underequipped. That is why we employ metaphor and cliché. We seek to capture the scale of the problem so line-of-business executives will invest in appropriate tools for asset management, vulnerability scanning,

patching and the prevention and remediation of attacks. There are some signs that our colorful messages are getting through. According to PwC, around 43% of Middle East organizations predicted a surge in reportable cyber-incidents in 2022. At the start of this year, 58% of those polled foresaw a spike in investment compared with just 43% at the beginning of 2021.

Irksome and uncanny

Good news, assuming the investment is efficiently targeted. Asset discovery is easy for the assets with which IT and the SOC are familiar. But what about those other assets? The ones currently off radar, but which pose a risk nonetheless? New devices and additions to the network that should be managed from the start often go unnoticed because of the modern splintering of the IT stack. Third-party networks and employees’ personal devices are just two examples.

Unfortunately for us, attackers have an irksome and uncanny talent for finding stack elements that are hidden from defenders. So, the prevailing challenge of the modern cybersecurity professional is to duplicate the attacker’s view of their network and add it to

their own. Here are three ways to go about this.

1. External penetration testing

This approach has been around for years but there is a reason it is a classic. An outside team with no preconceptions that is incentivized to poke holes in your cyber-curtain is better placed to find vulnerabilities than the teams or vendors who created them. External teams use the same tools, techniques, and processes as cybercriminals.

But pen-testing alone is not enough. It will only provide a snapshot of current security postures and cannot offer ongoing assessment. In the age of hybrid work, employees can add devices every day and business units can engage in their own private deals with third-party providers for new cloud-native infrastructures and services. We must go further.

2. Open-source intelligence

As more and more IT assets routinely connect to both company networks and the Internet, they (and the company that permits them access) run the risk of being visible on the Internet. A laser-light on the wall to an attacker, these assets will leave around data to be vacuumed up and analyzed by services like Shodan (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network), which bills itself as a search engine for the Internet of Everything but which can be used by pen-testers and cyber-attackers alike.

Such data sources are available to everyone as open-source intelligence (OSINT). Since attackers use them, it only makes sense for defenders to use the same tools to get an idea of their online exposure. Problem assets or issues in IT, OT or IoT can make themselves known. Organizations can add public data to their internal asset lists to make it useful to SOC teams. Those same teams can get useful information on their enterprises’ domains and subdomains, and what assets are registered on those domains. Visibility of this range and depth can show important connections between internal and external assets, giving a far more accurate picture of the technology suite.

3. External attack-surface management

External attack-surface management (EASM) takes the newfound comprehensive view of the technology stack and uses it to detect potential issues or threats over time. By now, the SOC team will have access to information about all the various platforms their organization uses, whether they are cloud-native or hosted internally. This makes it significantly easier to detect potential vulnerabilities, as the security team will also have visibility of configurations and inadequately protected assets.

Now we can flag assets that were previously unknown if we find them to pose problems. Some may be unauthorized, others merely unapproved. They may be found to be running end-of-support software, open ports, or unsanctioned apps. They may be connecting to suspect domains.

Similar to penetration testing, EASM gives an attacker’s view of the network, but unlike pen-testers, EASM grants insights in real time and over time. When up-to-the-minute visibility is at the beck and call of SOCs, it suddenly becomes possible to fix issues

before attackers exploit them. This also leads to a team that is less prone to burnout through alert fatigue.

New metaphors

A security team that is armed with all the information available to attackers can think like attackers. In fact, only a team armed with all the information available to attackers can think like attackers. Such teams will have new metaphors: “armed for the fight” and “entering the battlefield with confidence”. And the business, having listened and invested appropriately, is safer from the digital hordes.

Hadi Jaafarawi Managing Director for Middle East, Qualys

"Unfortunately for us, attackers have an irksome and uncanny talent for finding stack elements that are hidden from defenders. So, the prevailing challenge of the modern cybersecurity professional is to duplicate the attacker’s view of their network and add it to their own."

RISK, REWARD AND THE ROUTE TO RESILIENCE

James Petter, Vice President & General Manager, International at Pure Storage dicsusses 2023 business predictions

While the Gulf region is undergoing steady recovery, the past few years of turmoil have forced executives to inspect every aspect of their operations. Supply-chain issues, despite some encouraging improvements, continue to cast a shadow in some industries. Inflation rates are creeping ever upwards. In the UK, improvement is expected around mid-2023, whereas in some quarters in the US, inflation is feared to be a longer-term problem. While in Gulf countries the highest inflation rates are around half those in the US and Europe, we expect all these factors and more to keep regional business leaders on their toes in 2023. Energy costs will be of significant concern and the entire C-suite will start to take an interest in economics as external issues continue to impact budgets and operations. From supply chains to the choice of Opex over Capex, the year ahead will encompass change driven by the lessons of the recent past. Here are our predictions.

Risk management will be a corporate priority, with predictive data in demand

Risk management is never far from discussions amongst CFOs and regulatory teams. But in the economic climate of 2023, every senior leader, in every organisation, will have risk management

front of mind. There’ll be a deep assessment of the economics within companies, and their financial structures and technologies.

2023 will not be the year to leave any kind of chink in the corporate armour. I think that while CEOs, CIOs and CFOs will focus on their usual remits, we’ll also see leadership teams that are far better versed in each others’ areas as well. There will be truly multi-faceted teams, where each member can appreciate and understand their colleague’s concerns and pressure points too.

To help these leaders, we’ll likely see growth for predictive analytics and detailed modelling. Of course, every company has a wealth of data and most are trying to do something with it. But often the focus is on understanding and reacting to the current market. I believe there’ll be more of a push to look ahead, as part of the overall focus on risk management and mitigation.

The CFO will lead the agenda and subscription services will be their friend

Realistically, the CFO will dictate the agenda over the next twelve months, and likely beyond. C-suite officers rarely take their eye off the bottom line, but next year will see them staring at it more intently, which obviously means the CFO will steer budgets even more than usual. In the tech sector, we’ll hear plenty more conversations about TCO and in-year ROI. And, given the spend control that they offer, I think that means a more concerted move towards subscription services for many organisations.

Many finance teams favour a general Capex-before-Opex approach. Writing off depreciation for physical assets like IT hardware is a helpful mechanism for improving the health of corporate books, after all—especially for cash-rich companies. But unpredictable energy and infrastructure costs mean fixed-cost subscriptions look very appealing, especially when coupled with the fact that new services can be brought on without massive initial investments. And those subscription services that can deliver savings, not just in year one but well into year two and beyond, could sway CFOs and budget holders in 2023.

Companies will buy technology from vendors with a robust supply chain strategy

The last couple of years have taught harsh lessons around buying from vendors who do not have a robust supply chain in place, with wait times on B2B and consumer goods reaching months or even years in some cases. Businesses no longer want to buy from companies without a resilient supply chain in place. Therefore, companies are designing their technology stack to accommodate for global supply chain weakness and uncertainty. Those who can deliver in good time will be at a huge advantage. Buyers will need to look for vendors with multi-site, multi-continent operations and manufacturing. The strength of the company’s supply chain will be differentiated by unique flexibility, resilience, and responsiveness.

Energy costs will accelerate eco-friendly data centre design Eco-friendly design has been talked about for years when it comes to data centres. But the general imperative to be more efficient has received fresh impetus recently, in the form of the energy crisis and soaring prices. With data centres consuming between one and

two per cent of the entire planet’s electricity, these sharply rising prices will have a massive knock-on effect next year.

In the UK, offshore wind power became around nine times cheaper than gas earlier this year. So the ability to connect to renewably-generated electricity will likely become a priority—and one that leads site selection criteria for new data centres and refits alike. More energy efficient cooling systems will also be looked at, in a bid to further push down energy costs. And I think we’ll see creative ways to use the heat that data centres produce, whether as another renewable energy source or diverted into innovative side projects.

Hope ahoy!

Having learned lessons, we have the opportunity to be “cautiously bold”. While an apparent contradiction, what we mean here is that many of the changes required would look bold to our pre-pandemic selves. But living in the current world means having to take leaps. Our experience of the recent past means we will take these leaps cautiously. Whether it is risk management, a reinvention of our supply chains, or something even trickier, our pandemic lessons will guide our hands. With careful thought and steadfast commitment, we will find the best route to resilience.

James Petter VP & GM, International, Pure Storage

TRENDS SHAPING DIGITIZATION IN 2023

Another year of digital transformation in the region and where do we find ourselves? Much as we do at the end of any year — lessons learned and challenges ahead. For the past 30 months or so we have been grappling with change so deep and broad that it is bringing about dramatic cultural shifts from boardrooms to the enterprise front line. Faced with the very real possibility of market irrelevance, organizations across all industries are adjusting relationships with their workforces, looking into new business models, and experimenting with new technologies to compete and thrive.

In 2023, we should expect regional business leaders to demand more ROI on technology investments. Inflation rates may be lower in the GCC than they are in the Americas or Europe, but they are still of concern. The right digital investments could have a corrective impact on the bottom line. It is already hard to imagine a modern business that is not, to some extent, digital. And as we wade ever deeper into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (yes, it’s still with us), businesses should be prepared to address a range of issues, from the employee experience and its association with technology procurement to the ongoing pressures of regulatory compliance and ESG.

Mark Ackerman, Area VP for Middle East and Africa, at ServiceNow writes about 4 macro trends that will shape the region’s digital transformation in 2023

Mark Ackerman Area VP for MEA ServiceNow

Here are four trends that will shape the region’s digitization stories in 2023.

1. Employee expectations regarding flexible working

In May this year, multiple media sources in the UAE were abuzz with the finding in a Cisco survey that 90% of the nation’s workers preferred remote or hybrid work and that 61% would be less likely to look elsewhere for opportunities if their employer implemented flexible work schedules. Collaboration tools, and the plethora of supporting platforms that governed, monitored, and scheduled work from afar during pandemic lockdowns were not wasted investments. The technology foundation is there to accommodate the relatively young workforces that span the Middle East and Africa.

The good news is that businesses have already seen the productivity benefits that go along with home-based work. Far from the feared slow delivery and stale service that stopped pre-pandemic moves to remote-work models, we have seen staff morale and productivity receive notable boosts. Flexibility and automated workflows are recruiting badges, attracting young, driven professionals with much to offer. Firms will have a choice — deliver flexible work or try to get by with a stale unmotivated workforce.

2. Talent sought, but where?

This issue compounds the first in that the very talent that is expecting enhanced work experiences can afford to make such demands because it is also in short supply. As time goes on, companies that do not respond to such trends will be hit by talent drains that will impact operations and service levels. At the same time, these same elements will be enhanced at enterprises that offer more alluring environments to their staff.

A recent survey by PwC showed that 47% of Middle East companies were addressing talent gaps by upskilling their workforces. Meanwhile, some 32% had opted for automation, including automation that enhanced the employee experience. This digitization taking place side by side with upskilling is the ideal environment for today’s young professionals, as it gels with their outlook and ambition. So, in 2023, tools and training that empower each employee to innovate independently while working flexibly will be critical.

3. AI and business intelligence

In crisis, everyone looks around for reassurance. Businesses look around for ways of getting through the crisis and becoming immune to the next one. “Resilience” has been the word of the day for countless months. It remains so because of the aftershocks of the pandemic — supply-chain issues and inflation being just two examples. AI-powered analytics does not just allow real-time insights into the efficiency of processes and the profitability of business models; it clears the way for predictive analyses that show a path to long-term success.

When technology stacks include mechanisms for extracting meaningful, useful data from structured and unstructured sources and categorizing it for presentation and review, decision makers get access to valuable knowledge. In 2023, we expect to see an innovation cycle, as the positive ROI from these technologies encourages yet more investment.

4. The continued ascendancy of ESG

Environment. Social. Governance. Everyone everywhere now expects more from brands. There is no escaping it. Care for the planet; care for the communities you serve; and care for your employees and the major issues taking place around the world. Customers care about it, employees care about it, partners care about it. Investors and shareholders care about it.

In 2023, as ESG pressure reaches critical mass, regional businesses will start to form strategies and focus groups. When complying with government, industry, and market expectations, it will help to have the right talent in place. Conveniently, digital natives share an affinity with environmental and social matters. They will also be better placed to effectively use the technology platforms that produce ESG insights and drive progress in these matters.

Reach, and keep reaching

Nautical metaphors are common in the digital world. In that spirit: Technology has always kept us afloat. Even when we felt pushed below the surface, it had the power to bring our heads above water and, in some cases, make us soar above — high above — the waves. Those highflyers are always easily identified. They are the ones that spot trouble ahead of time. They are the ones that leverage the right technology at the right time in the right way to get the lift they need.

In 2023, they will be the ones that digitize workflows, look after employees and communities, and futureproof themselves against the crises to come.

"As we wade ever deeper into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (yes, it’s still with us), businesses should be prepared to address a range of issues, from the employee experience and its association with technology procurement to the ongoing pressures of regulatory compliance and ESG."

BUILDING A RESILIENT BACKUP STRATEGY

Ransomware attackers don’t just want your Data, now they are after the Backups too writes Rick Vanover, Senior Director of Product Strategy, Veeam

Ransomware remains a significant cybersecurity threat for government agencies as ransomware attackers evolve methods to escape detection. The ultimate goal for attackers is not simply to exfiltrate and encrypt data to force victims to pay their ransom, but to totally remove an organization’s ability to recover from such an attack.

Attackers are now taking new approaches to achieve this objective, both in making their intrusions more difficult to detect or by adding new targets, such as data backups, to completely hobble an organization.

To help guard against some of these tactics, organizations must develop robust data backup strategies that allow for fast and complete data recovery and immutable contingency plans to ensure

potential ransomware attacks can be mitigated.

Encrypting smaller portions

Ransomware groups looking to infiltrate systems have a few challenges. Once they locate and exploit a vulnerability, they have to obtain and encrypt as much data as they can before either launching a ransomware attack or being detected by the system’s safeguards.

Encrypting data takes time, and the longer an attacker is in a network, the higher the chances they will be detected. A new technique, intermittent encryption, mitigates this challenge. By encrypting portions of the data small enough to evade detection, attackers can still render a file unusable by an organization without the decryption key. They do this by encrypting every 12

or 18 bytes of data, varying the times of day in which they do it and how much they encrypt, so attackers can evade automated detection tools and stay in the network longer.

Stealing the backup

Once bad actors have encrypted enough data to launch a ransomware attack, some are now looking to improve their odds of payment by also claiming an organization’s backup repositories as well.

Backups kept on an open network or one with weak password credentials and no multi-factor authentication are likely targets. For example, if backups are authorized by a primary Active Directory domain, then attackers will try to compromise that domain to gain access to both the backup and the production data. Such attacks

often target financial services, health care and public sectors where a ransomware attack can impact critical infrastructure.

Securing data as ransomware evolves

Even as ransomware tactics evolve, the best cybersecurity methods continue to be some of the most traditional ones—solid software patch management and cyber hygiene education. Both strategies will help reduce an organization’s risk of ransomware exposure, especially in a remote work environment.

A strong software patch management strategy limits the software vulnerabilities attackers can exploit to launch a ransomware attack, challenging attackers before they can even get into the system. Quickly deployed software patches and updates lower the odds that attackers will be able to access a network’s data. Though the tactic seems simple, it’s often an area organizations can improve.

Additionally, cyber education needs to

Rick Vanover Senior Director, Product Strategy, Veeam

improve. Employees are often the weakest link that allows the attack to get started. Everyone within an organization should be able to recognize common infiltration approaches, such as phishing emails or social engineering tactics. Even with improvements in these areas, the reality is that ransomware attacks will continue to happen. As ransomware evolves, backup strategy becomes particularly crucial. A short cut approach to data backup isn’t sufficient when the backups themselves are the targets.

Organizations need to thoroughly develop and plan their backup and data protection strategies. This means putting in place a strategy that takes into account evolving tactics and practicing planned steps to take in the event of a ransomware or other cybersecurity incidents. Practice is the only way to identify potential wrinkles in the plan, familiarize stakeholders with their roles and the technology they may need to use, and ensure a high-stress cyber response scenario isn’t the first time the plan is read.

Strong data management strategies can be summarized with the numbers 3-2-11-0. This means maintaining three copies of important data; on at least two different types of media; with at least one of these copies being off site; including one data backup that is air-gapped, offline or immutable—hackers can’t compromise what they can’t touch. Zero errors should be present following automated backup testing and recoverability verification, organizations deploy a multi-contingency plan to ensure their data can be recovered, regardless of a ransomware attack.

As long as bad actors can find ways to profit from ransomware and other cybersecurity exploits, there’s no doubt their tactics will continue to evolve. While ransomware groups remain innovative and resilient, organizations must do the same. The combination of strong basic cyber hygiene, employee education and a wellthought-out data management and backup strategy serves as the strongest defense against dynamic cyber attacks.

LOW-CODE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES MARKET TO GROW 20% IN 2023

Business Technologists, Hyperautomation and Composability Will Drive Low-Code Technology Adoption Through 2026

The worldwide market for low-code development technologies is projected to total $26.9 billion in 2023, an increase of 19.6% from 2022, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. A rise in business technologists and a growing number of enterprise-wide hyperautomation and composable business initiatives will be the key drivers accelerating the adoption of low-code technologies through 2026.

“Organizations are increasingly turning to low-code development technologies to fulfill growing demands for speed application delivery and highly customized automation workflows,” said Varsha Mehta, Senior Market Research Specialist at Gartner. “Equipping both professional IT developers and nonIT personas — business technologists — with diverse low-code tools enables organizations to reach the level of digital competency and speed of delivery required for the modern agile environment.”

VP Analyst, at Gartner. “Empowered by the intuitive, flexible and increasingly-powerful features of low-code development tools, business technologists and citizen technologist personas are developing lightweight solutions to meet business unit needs for enhanced productivity, efficiency and agility — often as fusion teams.”

Gartner predicts that by 2026, developers outside formal IT departments will account for at least 80% of the user base for low-code development tools, up from 60% in 2021.

Hyperautomation and Composability to Drive LowCode Adoption

Interest in hyperautomation continues to grow due to rising operational optimiza-

tion demands, a widening skills gap and increasing economic pressures. Gartner forecasts that the spending on hyperautomation-enabling software technologies will reach $720 billion in 2023. A portion of this spending will be directed at low-code development technologies including LCAP, iPaaS, RPA, CADP and MXDP, to support process automation, integration, decision analytics and intelligence use cases.

Investments in low-code technologies that support innovation and composable integration will also grow as organizations embrace the composable enterprise. Composable enterprises require better reuse of existing packaged business capabilities (PBCs) for agile application development and to create custom user experience for new workflows and processes.

Low-Code Development Technologies

Market to Grow 20% in 2023

Low-code application

platforms (LCAPs) are projected to be the largest component of the low-code development technology market, growing 25% to reach nearly $10 billion in 2023.

While LCAP is the largest market segment, citizen automation development platform (CADP) is projected to grow at the fastest pace, with a 30.2% growth forecast for 2023. Typical use cases of CADP include automating workflows, building web-based forms, bridging data and content across multiple softwareas-a-service applications and creating reports and data visualizations.

“The high cost of tech talent and a growing hybrid or borderless workforce will contribute to low-code technology adoption,” said Jason Wong, Distinguished

TOSHIBA 20TB MG10

SERIES HARD DISK DRIVE

Toshiba Gulf FZE Dubai, UAE has announced the launch of MG10 Series in the MEA region, a massive capacity 20TB HDD with conventional magnetic recording (CMR) . The 20TB MG10 Series has a 10-disk helium-sealed design that leverages Toshiba’s innovative Flux Control Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (FC-MAMR) technology to boost storage capabilities.

The 20TB MG10 Series further illustrates Toshiba’s commitment to advancing HDD design to meet evolving needs for storage devices in cloud-scale servers and object and file storage infrastructure. With its improved power efficiency and increased capacity, the 20TB MG10 Series helps cloud-scale infrastructure to advance storage density, thereby reducing capex and improving total cost of ownership (TCO). As data growth continues at an explosive pace, the advanced 20TB MG10 Series with FC-MAMR technology will help cloud-scale service providers and storage solution designers to achieve higher storage densities for cloud, hybrid-cloud and on-premises rack-scale storage.

With 11.1% more capacity than Toshiba’s prior 18TB model, 20TB MG10 Series are compatible with the widest range of applications and operating systems, and are adapted to mixed random and sequential read and write workloads in both cloud-scale and traditional data-center use cases. The drive features 7,200rpm performance, a 550TB per year workload rating, and a choice of SATA and SAS interfaces—all in a power-efficient helium-sealed, industry-standard 3.5-inch form factor.

Highlights:

• Up to 20TB capacity

• Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) for broad compatibility

• Toshiba Flux Control Microwave-assisted Magnetic Recording (FC-MAMR™) Technology

• Industry-leading 10-disk helium-sealed design for superior storage density

• Industry Standard 3.5-inch 26.1mm height Form Factor

• 7200rpm Performance

• SATA 6.0Gbit/s Interfacess

• Lower operational power profile, providing excellent power efficiency (W/TB) for better TCO

• 550 Total TB Transferred per Year Workload Rating

PALO ALTO MEDICAL IOT SECURITY

Palo Alto Networks announced Medical IoT Security — a Zero Trust security solution for medical devices — enabling healthcare organizations to deploy and manage new connected technologies quickly and securely.

Through automated device discovery, contextual segmentation, least privilege policy recommendations and one-click enforcement of policies, Palo Alto Networks Medical IoT Security delivers a Zero Trust approach in a seamless, simplified manner. Medical IoT Security also provides best-in-class threat protection through seamless integration with Palo Alto Networks cloud-delivered security services, such as Advanced Threat Prevention and Advanced URL Filtering.

NEXT-GENERATION DELL POWEREDGE SERVERS

Dell Technologies announced the next generation of Dell PowerEdge servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors. With their highest application performance to date, these new systems are designed to help customers more effectively power today’s demanding, compute-centric workloads such as data analytics. Designed for efficiency and security in mind, the new PowerEdge Servers are equipped with Dell’s Smart Cooling technology to help reduce CO2 emissions and a built-in cyber resilient architecture to help reinforce customers’ security efforts. The next generation of Dell PowerEdge servers with 4th generation AMD EPYC processors provides performance and storage advancements while integrating into existing customer environments. The servers are well-suited for organizations with advanced workloads such as data analytics, AI, high performance computing (HPC) and virtualization.

Highlights:

• PowerEdge R7625 offers increased application performance and data storage. With the performance of dual 4th generation AMD EPYC processors, this server is designed to be the backbone of a data center. This 2-socket, 2U platform has proven to accelerate in-memory databases by over 72% surpassing all other 2- and 4-socket SAP Sales & Distributions submissions, achieving a new world record.3

Highlights:

• The new Palo Alto Networks Medical IoT Security uses machine learning (ML) to enable healthcare organizations to:

• Create device rules with automated security responses: Easily create rules that monitor devices for behavioral anomalies and automatically trigger appropriate responses. Automate Zero Trust policy recommendations and enforcement: Enforce recommended least-privileged access policies for medical devices with one click using Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls or supported network enforcement technologies.

• Understand device vulnerabilities and risk posture: Access each medical device’s Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and map them to Common Vulnerability Exposures (CVEs). This mapping helps identify the software libraries used on medical devic-

• PowerEdge R7615 is a one-socket, 2U server with a faster memory bandwidth than previous generations. Improved drive density is designed to complete multiple jobs faster with a smaller data center footprint. This platform accelerates AI workloads with maximum accelerated expansion capabilities, achieving an AI benchmark world record.4

• PowerEdge R6625 is a two-socket, 1U server delivering the optimal balance in performance, flexibility and density. The system is suited for HPC workloads or running multiple virtual desktop infrastructure instances.

• PowerEdge R6615 is a one-socket, 1U server that offers more virtual machine density than previous generations. The thin design offers increased compute power in a dense form factor, limiting data center footprint expansion without losing performance.

es and any associated vulnerabilities.

• Improve compliance: Easily understand medical device vulnerabilities, patch status and security settings, and then get recommendations to bring devices into compliance with rules and guidelines, such as the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and similar laws and regulations.

• Verify network segmentation: Visualize the entire map of connected devices and ensure each device is placed in its designated network segment.

• Simplify operations: Two distinct dashboards allow IT and biomedical engineering teams to each see the information critical to their roles. Integration with existing healthcare information management systems, like AIMS and Epic Systems, help automate workflows.

ENSURING SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Sunil Paul, Co- Founder & MD, Finesse, shares the biggest reasons why digital transformation initiatives continue to fail at a rapid pace, and how can these be avoided.

Despite being aimed at simplifying and streamlining a company's workflow, digital transformation is far from easy. According to a BCG study published in 2020, 70% of digital transformation projects fail to meet their goals, even when leadership is aligned. We take a look at the four biggest reasons why digital transformation initiatives fail and how expert advisory services could help organizations to avoid them.

1. Transformation off the cuff

As the pandemic hit in 2020, organizations responded with in-the-moment solutions. As a result, they were not addressing the actual issues, but rather the crisis. The organizations responded quickly to the situation at the time, with the risk of going underground very real if they didn't.

While it's one thing to throw solutions at a problem during a pandemic, it's not sustainable. The fact that organizations continue to focus on getting quick results is disheartening. It is not sustainable, and such half-baked solutions will cause the organization a great deal of problems in the future, nullifying the benefits that digital transformation would have brought.

There is also the problem of businesses' apathy in ignoring digital security. Digital transformation is good, but digital security is equally important. Many organizations wait until a security breach occurs before tightening their digital security measures security. As a result of security attacks, companies may suffer legal and financial consequences, as well as a loss of trust among their customers, who will often churn.

Organizations need to take a pause, step back, and identify a clear vision of their digitalization end-goal. If the vision is already established, leaders need to determine if they are on the right track and map out the rest of the strategy. Following that, they should also develop a strategy for getting to this end-goal, and update it period-

ically while remaining firm to the vision.

2. Forgetting the customer

Customers' requests have certainly changed over the last two years, and they are still changing rapidly. Often, organizations or teams within them build digital solutions they believe will solve customer problems, but in reality, they don't. It is difficult for leaders to see company resources wasted on initiatives that achieve little to no results.

It is imperative that every business pays close attention to its customers and the business environment. The customer should be involved in every step of a digital initiative, and strategies should be tailored to their needs. What works for one business's customers may not work for yours. Observe and listen closely.

3. Lack of long-term support from leadership

Long-term support is the focus here. As soon as a digital initiative is introduced, many members of the C-team are delighted, and they are all on board. A quarter or two later, however, leaders lose focus on

digital initiatives that had been initiated, because other business initiatives take precedence. In addition to derailing the digital initiative, this also affects the employees' trust in the leadership team.

Digital transformation takes time and requires regular adjustments to the strategy to achieve the desired outcome. Leaders are responsible for staying with their teams and providing support until the goal is achieved.

4. Finding the right staff to support digital transformation initiatives

One of the biggest challenges for leaders may be finding the right staff to solve the problems with digitalization without going bankrupt.

A pioneer in digital transformation in the GCC, Finesse, has launched a program called 1CXO to solve this problem for business leaders.

1CXO is a set of the following six Centers of Excellence, which businesses can choose from, as per their present need in their business.

• Information Security Office

• Data Privacy Office

• Regulatory Office

• Digital Transformation Office

• Customer Experience Office

• Chief Information Office

Each office is led by a senior leader who works with a team of subject matter experts. Leaders of each Center of Excellence bring a variety of experience across industries, cultures, and geographies to assist clients in integrating the best practices into their organizations. The Centers of Excellence provide services to multiple customers on a retainer or on demand basis. With 1CXO, customers only pay based on the number of service days rendered, making it a cost-effective solution. Engagements may be short-term or long-term.

Sunil Paul Co- Founder & MD Finesse

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